Huge venomous spider found in Hull after 5,000 mile journey

The RSPCA were called on Friday after the Huntsman spider was discovered in a shipping container and it was taken to a specialist rescue centre.

The animal protection charity said it had stowed away on a cargo ship, which had travelled from China.

In a statement, the RSPCA added: “He fancied a holiday so he hopped on a shipping container in China and ended up in Hull!

“He gave staff quite a fright! He’s now having some R&R at a specialist rescue centre.”

Huntsman spiders are known to hunt down and eat insects, small lizards and frogs, instead of catching them in webs.

Their bites contain venom which is not fatal to humans, but can cause nausea and headaches.

They originate in parts of Australasia, Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean Basin, and the Americas, and the giant variety, Heteropoda maxima, can grow to up to 30cm in leg span.

As these spiders are not native to the UK it would be an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to release them, or to allow them to escape into the wild.

A Huntsman Spider was found in a warehouse in Southwold in Suffolk two years ago, after it arrived from China in a shipment of chairs.

And five years ago, RSPCA inspectors were called to catch a Huntsman which was discovered in an Iceland store in Leeds, after it had travelled in a container from Costa Rica.